2/9/09

UPDATE:  I got this information about the question one of the commenters made related to psych drugs:  I did not get anything specific about those drugs but I did get this from a chemist:

I worked for 20 years as an analytical chemist and was responsible for running experiments to determine the expiration dates of our medicines. We were always conservative when setting limits.

There are many factors that affect the stability of medications. The most easily controlled by the end user is temperature. As a general rule for biological compounds near human temperatures the rate of decomposition approximately doubles with each 18° F rise in temperature and is roughly halved with each 18° F fall in temperature. So if the shelf life of a medicine is six months at 90° F and about three months at 110° F. That same medicine is expected to decompose about the same amount during four years in a refrigerator as it would in one year at room temperature or 16 years in a freezer.

Once a package has been opened oxygen, water, or microorganisms may enter the medicine and dramatically shorten it's shelf life. In general

2/8/09

I researched this topic after using an antibiotic that was 4 years after the expiration date and they worked just as well as brand new prescriptions would have worked. Then I had a headache and had a bottle of Advil that expired 3 years ago. I took one and my headache was gone in 20 minutes. So this is what my research told me about these medications:

Fifteen years ago, the U. S. military decided to find out. Sitting on a $1 billion stockpile of drugs and facing the daunting process of destroying and replacing its supply every two to three years, the military began a testing program to see if it could extend the life of its inventory.
The testing, conducted by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, ultimately covered more than 100 drugs, prescription and over-the-counter. The results, never before reported, show that about 90% of them were safe and effective far past their original expiration date, at least one for 15 years past it.

The Viet Cong used antibiotics and other medications in the 1960s and 1970s that were taken from the French in the 1940's and 1950's "source Survivalblog" . While this could be leaning toward the extreme, it is a testament to what has worked in the past, for others in need.

Joel Davis, a former FDA expiration-date compliance chief, says that with a handful of exceptions -- notably nitroglycerin, insulin and some liquid antibiotics -- most drugs are probably as durable as those the agency has tested for the military. "Most drugs degrade very slowly," he says. "In all likelihood, you can take a product you have at home and keep it for many years, especially if it's in the refrigerator."

It seems the most difficult part of storing prescription meds in your survival supplies, maybe obtaining such meds in the first place. It seems every time I visit the Doctor for whatever reason all I need to say is that I have a sinus infection, and wham, he writes me a prescription for antibiotics to clear up the “infection”. The antibiotics quickly find their way into my stockpile of survival meds.

If there is medication that has a substantial impact on your health, such as insulin, blood sugar testing, and syringes for diabetics or anti seizure medications for epileptics, blood pressure meds etc., talk with your doctor and pharmacist about your concerns for long term supplies and long term storage of such medications for extended emergencies. Your doctor will likely jack around and offer no real help, (after all if you have supplies of needed meds to last a year or more you will have no need of his services during this time) but it don’t hurt to ask…
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http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5712/drug_expiration_dates_how_they_benefit.html?cat=5

The FDA began requiring expiration dates on prescription and over the counter medications in 1979, as a way to set up testing and reporting guidelines. Today, stability testing analyzes how a drug maintains its identity, strength, quality, and purity for the specified period chosen by the manufacturing company. So, if a company chooses a two year expire date, it does not have to test beyond that for prolonged effectiveness. One might also assume that the expiration dates, worn upon prescription and over the counter medication, are more of a marketing tool, which in the long run benefit drug manufacturers. If certain drugs were found to have a longer shelf life, then it would decrease the turnover rates and profits for many drug-manufacturing companies. As it stands now, the average expiration date is three years, and then the drug is discarded, and must be bought and re-stocked. Of course, there are some valid exceptions, such as medications like nitroglycerine used to treat heart conditions, insulin used by diabetics, and some antibiotics, which do not degrade slowly, and should be utilized with expiration guidelines. However, most drugs degrade slowly, and with the proper research, could extend the shelf life. So, why are drug manufacturing companies not testing products to see if they can extend out the expiration? It becomes impractical for them to impose the extensive studies, when they are in a constant mode of product improvement, and change. There is a not so widely publicized research and study which has been in play since 1985, and implemented out of an United States Air Force initiative. At that time, the Air Force was facing the process of destroying, and replenishing their drug stockpiles, and decided to request permission from the FDA, to begin a testing program aimed at extending the shelf life of many of their stockpiled supply, and deeming them potent and safe. The Air Force, in conjunction with the FDA, found that the expiration dates set by the drug manufacturers were modest and could be extended out longer than what the manufacturers stipulated. The military's shelf-life extension program is still implemented today, with the FDA conducting the testing to see how long the drugs can be used past their manufacturer labeled expiration dates. This program has saved millions of dollars for the military and the American taxpayer. As for whether or not there is any harm from using drugs after the given expiration date, the facts are evident in the military's shelf-life extension program. Military personnel and their family members use medications that have been extended past the manufacturers specified date. Some recommendations, when you obtain a new prescription or purchase an over the counter medication, ask the pharmacist or prescribing physician what, if any, are the harmful side effects from taking the medication past the expired date. Know that the worst place to store any medication is in the bathroom medicine cabinet; since, it is a hot and moist environment, and this can have interfere with the effectiveness of certain medications. Medications are better kept in a cool and dry space. Also, never treat a present ailment that has not been diagnosed, by a physician, with medications you may have from a previous diagnosis. This can be a harmful practice, and has little to do with the expiration date of the medication. All in all, there is little proof in the notion that a drug taken past its expire date has lost its potency or is harmful. There is more evidence to assume that drug-manufacturing companies conservatively date the drugs, as a means to increase turnover and profit, protect against liability, and overall benefit to the company—not the consumer. The expiration date does not indicate that a drug will be ineffective or harmful after that date, but rather that said drug is still good on the manufacturers chosen date; and has little to do with scientific testing. The FDA has little control over the chosen dates, and it falls more on congress to enforce and better regulate the drug-manufacturing companies, with the encouragement of carrying out shelf life extension testing.